in your last year at dewitt clinton high school, you practiced signing your name, stanley martin lieber, over and over again. you were so certain that the day would come when you would write that great american novel and peel would ask for you autograph. >> reporter: but would 16-year-old stanley believe this? >> today, people do occasionally request your autograph. not for the great american novel. the name you now sign is stan lee. which you adopted legally because you were embarrassed that stanley m. lieber was writing the lowly come ix. >> you'll be shocked by how happy you can be. you need to make a decision to change. you do. why not do it sooner. happy is better than sad. >> people you don't know will come up to you and tell you how much they love you and thank you for changes their lives. >> reporter: and finally these words of advice. >> calculus, trust me, you will never use it. >> finally, someone speaks the truth. but it's really beautiful. what would you write? >> i didn't have a whole lot growing up. i just said remember that it has -- life has nothing to do -- it's not th